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"Ahmed, Asif"
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A book of conquest : the Chachnama and Muslim origins in South Asia
How did Islam come to India? Why is this question of such great significance to formations of political thought in South Asia? This book examines the longue dureé history--from the early thirteenth century to the twenty-first--of a particular text, Chachnama, written in Uch Sharif. The Book of Chach (Chachnama) was written in 1226 CE and provided an account, in Persian, of the 712 CE conquest of Sind by the armies of Muhammad bin Qasim. This early regional history became the foundation for British colonial efforts to cast Muslim rule in India as one of despotic foreigners--a rule to be replaced by the benevolent British one. Asif explores an interconnected Indian Ocean geography which linked sailors, merchants, and literati across divisions of religion and polities. In Chachnama, we find one of the earliest articulation of a political theory that was demonstrably polyglossic, multivalent, and deeply embedded in both the Indic and the Islamic ethos. This examination of Chachnama informs a reconstruction of a intermingled political world at the heart of the text--a world that is subsequently recast by colonial historiography in terms of stark difference alone: Muslim invaders versus Hindu subjects. This work is a bold rearticulation of a medieval imagination that reconciled power and politics in ways that appear incongruous to our present day politics. It takes aim at the fundamental way in which the modern state of Pakistan imagines itself--as a polity ideologically founded in \"712 A.D.\" by the \"First Citizen\" Muhammad bin Qasim, and has implications for our contemporary understanding of religious difference and theologically based nationalisms.-- Provided by publsiher
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Incentivizing water conservation in agriculture: a case study of the Great Salt Lake watersheds
Conserving agricultural water resources is crucial for sustainable development, yet, developing effective policies is challenging due to limited site-specific information. We present a framework combining economic models and remote-sensing data to spatially explicitly assess willingness-to-accept payments to irrigators and unit water-saving costs. Applied to three major tributary watersheds of the Great Salt Lake, this framework identifies areas with the highest conservation potential and cost-effectiveness. We find that an annual water conservation goal of 581 million m3, necessary to restore the lake within 30 years, can be met by fallowing irrigated alfalfa fields. With 95% certainty, this goal would be fully achieved with annual payments of US$325 million under site-specific payments or US$376 million under county-level payments, or at least 84% achieved with US$341 million under watershed-level payments. This framework can be applied to explore policy priorities and the economic viability of land-based natural resource protection, informing funding decisions and achieving conservation goals in various contexts.
Journal Article
Complete mitogenomes of two major dengue vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus from Bangladesh: Insights from comparative genomics with global mitogenome diversity and phylogenetics
Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus are the most competent vectors of multiple human arboviral diseases, posing a global public health concern, particularly in Bangladesh. While there are numerous genomic resources available worldwide, the genomic resources from Southeast Asian countries are scarce. Current study reported the first characterization of the complete mitochondrial (mt) genomes of Ae. aegypti and Ae. albopictus from Bangladesh. The circular mitogenomes are 16,662 bp and 16,585 bp in size, with AT contents of 79.02% and 78.81%, respectively. Both mitogenomes contain all 37 functional subunits, including 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), two ribosomal RNA genes, 22 transfer RNA genes (tRNAs), and a control region. We also reported the unique codon usage and Relative synonymous codon usage patterns, which are congruent with other members of the Culicine family. Our intraspecific analysis of 15 mitochondrial genes revealed higher genetic distance, but lower SNP density in Ae. aegypti , compared to Ae. albopictus , indicating Ae. aegypti might have a longer evolutionary history, while Ae. albopictus might have experienced recent population expansion with steady divergence. Similarity metrics and phylogeny of 13 PCGs from 37 taxa indicated both species of Aedes formed specific clusters, where Bangladeshi Aedes spp . showed close relationships with North American, Oceania and European populations. Our comprehensive tree incorporating Aedes, Ochleroratus and Culex spp . revealed distinct clades, aligning with previous studies. Current study provides a foundation for future research on Aedes spp . of Bangladesh, leveraging it to other Southeast Asian countries, aiding vector identification, control, and disease mitigation.
Journal Article
A Survey on Sparsity Exploration in Transformer-Based Accelerators
Transformer models have emerged as the state-of-the-art in many natural language processing and computer vision applications due to their capability of attending to longer sequences of tokens and supporting parallel processing more efficiently. Nevertheless, the training and inference of transformer models are computationally expensive and memory intensive. Meanwhile, utilizing the sparsity in deep learning models has proven to be an effective approach to alleviate the computation challenge as well as help to fit large models in edge devices. As high-performance CPUs and GPUs are generally not flexible enough to explore low-level sparsity, a number of specialized hardware accelerators have been proposed for transformer models. This paper provides a comprehensive review of hardware transformer accelerators that have been proposed to explore sparsity for computation and memory optimizations. We classify existing works based on the strategies of utilizing sparsity and identify their pros and cons in those strategies. Based on our analysis, we point out promising directions and recommendations for future works on improving the effective sparse execution of transformer hardware accelerators.
Journal Article
Gelatin- and Papaya-Based Biodegradable and Edible Packaging Films to Counter Plastic Waste Generation
Most of the food packaging materials used in the market are petroleum-based plastics; such materials are neither biodegradable nor environmentally friendly and require years to decompose. To overcome these problems, biodegradable and edible materials are encouraged to be used because such materials degrade quickly due to the actions of bacteria, fungi, and other environmental effects. In this work, commonly available household materials such as gelatin, soy protein, corn starch, and papaya were used to prepare cost-effective lab-scale biodegradable and edible packaging film as an effective alternative to commercial plastics to reduce waste generation. Prepared films were characterized in terms of Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), water vapor transmission rate (WVTR), optical transparency, and tensile strength. FTIR confirmed the addition of papaya and soy protein to the gelatin backbone. WVTR of the gelatin-papaya films was recorded to be less than 50 g/m2/day. This water vapor barrier was five times better than films of pristine gelatin. The gelatin, papaya, and soy protein films exhibited transparencies of around 70% in the visible region. The tensile strength of the film was 2.44 MPa, which improved by a factor of 1.5 for the films containing papaya and soy protein. The barrier qualities of the gelatin and gelatin-papaya films maintained the properties even after going through 2000 bending cycles. From the results, it is inferred that the prepared films are ideally suitable for food encapsulation and their production on a larger scale can considerably cut down the plastic wastage.
Journal Article
Establishment of porcine and human expanded potential stem cells
We recently derived mouse expanded potential stem cells (EPSCs) from individual blastomeres by inhibiting the critical molecular pathways that predispose their differentiation. EPSCs had enriched molecular signatures of blastomeres and possessed developmental potency for all embryonic and extra-embryonic cell lineages. Here, we report the derivation of porcine EPSCs, which express key pluripotency genes, are genetically stable, permit genome editing, differentiate to derivatives of the three germ layers in chimeras and produce primordial germ cell-like cells in vitro. Under similar conditions, human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells can be converted, or somatic cells directly reprogrammed, to EPSCs that display the molecular and functional attributes reminiscent of porcine EPSCs. Importantly, trophoblast stem-cell-like cells can be generated from both human and porcine EPSCs. Our pathway-inhibition paradigm thus opens an avenue for generating mammalian pluripotent stem cells, and EPSCs present a unique cellular platform for translational research in biotechnology and regenerative medicine.
Gao, Nowak-Imialek, Chen et al. generate porcine and human stem cells that possess expanded developmental potency for both embryonic and extra-embryonic cell lineages.
Journal Article
Effects of Different Solvents Extractions on Total Polyphenol Content, HPLC Analysis, Antioxidant Capacity, and Antimicrobial Properties of Peppers (Red, Yellow, and Green (Capsicum annum L.))
Plants possessing various bioactive compounds and antioxidant components have gained enormous attention because of their efficacy in enhancing human health and nutrition. Peppers (Capsicum annuum L.), because of their color, flavor, and nutritional value, are considered as one of the most popular vegetables around the world. In the present investigation, the effect of different solvents extractions (methanol, ethanol, and water) and oven drying on the antioxidant and antimicrobial properties was studied of red, yellow, and green peppers. The green pepper water extract showed the highest total polyphenol content (30.15 mg GAE/g DW) followed by red pepper water extract (28.73 mg GAE/g DW) and yellow pepper water extract (27.68 mg GAE/g DW), respectively. The methanol extracts of all the pepper samples showed higher TPC as compared to the ethanol extract. A similar trend was observed with the total flavonoid content (TFC). The antioxidant assays (DPPH scavenging and reducing power) echoed the findings of TPC and TFC. In both antioxidant assays, the highest antioxidant activity was shown by the water extract of green pepper, which was followed by the water extract of red pepper and yellow pepper. Furthermore, all extracts were assessed for their potential antimicrobial activity against bacterial and fungal pathogens. Aqueous extracts of all three pepper samples exhibited slightly higher inhibition zones as compared to their corresponding ethanolic and methanolic extract. Minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) values ranged from 0.5 to 8.0 mg/ml. The lowest MIC values ranging from 0.5 to 2.0 mg/ml concentration were recorded for aqueous extracts of green pepper. High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) analysis revealed tannic acid as the major phenolic compound in all three pepper samples. Thus, it is envisaged that the microwave drying/heating technique can improve the antioxidant and antimicrobial activity of the pepper.
Journal Article
Small Molecule, Big Prospects: MicroRNA in Pregnancy and Its Complications
MicroRNAs are small, noncoding RNA molecules that regulate target gene expression in the posttranscriptional level. Unlike siRNA, microRNAs are “fine-tuners” rather than “switches” in the regulation of gene expression; thus they play key roles in maintaining tissue homeostasis. The aberrant microRNA expression is implicated in the disease process. To date, numerous studies have demonstrated the regulatory roles of microRNAs in various pathophysiological conditions. In contrast, the study of microRNA in pregnancy and its associated complications, such as preeclampsia (PE), fetal growth restriction (FGR), and preterm labor, is a young field. Over the last decade, the knowledge of pregnancy-related microRNAs has increased and the molecular mechanisms by which microRNAs regulate pregnancy or its associated complications are emerging. In this review, we focus on the recent advances in the research of pregnancy-related microRNAs, especially their function in pregnancy-associated complications and the potential clinical applications. Here microRNAs that associate with pregnancy are classified as placenta-specific, placenta-associated, placenta-derived circulating, and uterine microRNA according to their localization and origin. MicroRNAs offer a great potential for developing diagnostic and therapeutic targets in pregnancy-related disorders.
Journal Article
Hyperglycaemia up-regulates placental growth factor (PlGF) expression and secretion in endothelial cells via suppression of PI3 kinase-Akt signalling and activation of FOXO1
Placenta growth factor (PlGF) is a pro-inflammatory angiogenic mediator that promotes many pathologies including diabetic complications and atherosclerosis. Widespread endothelial dysfunction precedes the onset of these conditions. As very little is known of the mechanism(s) controlling PlGF expression in pathology we investigated the role of hyperglycaemia in the regulation of PlGF production in endothelial cells. Hyperglycaemia stimulated PlGF secretion in cultured primary endothelial cells, which was suppressed by IGF-1-mediated PI3K/Akt activation. Inhibition of PI3K activity resulted in significant PlGF mRNA up-regulation and protein secretion. Similarly, loss or inhibition of Akt activity significantly increased basal PlGF expression and prevented any further PlGF secretion in hyperglycaemia. Conversely, constitutive Akt activation blocked PlGF secretion irrespective of upstream PI3K activity demonstrating that Akt is a central regulator of PlGF expression. Knock-down of the Forkhead box O-1 (FOXO1) transcription factor, which is negatively regulated by Akt, suppressed both basal and hyperglycaemia-induced PlGF secretion, whilst FOXO1 gain-of-function up-regulated PlGF in vitro and in vivo. FOXO1 association to a FOXO binding sequence identified in the PlGF promoter also increased in hyperglycaemia. This study identifies the PI3K/Akt/FOXO1 signalling axis as a key regulator of PlGF expression and unifying pathway by which PlGF may contribute to common disorders characterised by endothelial dysfunction, providing a target for therapy.
Journal Article
Compact rover surveying and laser scanning for BIM development
This paper presents a custom made small rover based surveying, mapping and building information modeling solution. Majority of the commercially available mobile surveying systems are larger in size which restricts their maneuverability in the targeted indoor vicinities. Furthermore their functional cost is unaffordable for low budget projects belonging to developing markets. Keeping in view these challenges, an economical indigenous rover based scanning and mapping system has developed using orthogonal integration of two low cost RPLidar A1 laser scanners. All the instrumentation of the rover has been interfaced with Robot Operating System (ROS) for online processing and recording of all sensorial data. The ROS based pose and map estimations of the rover have performed using Simultaneous Localization and Mapping (SLAM) technique. The perceived class 1 laser scans data belonging to distinct vicinities with variable reflective properties have been successfully tested and validated for required structural modeling. Systematically the recorded scans have been used in offline mode to generate the 3D point cloud map of the surveyed environment. Later the structural planes extraction from the point cloud data has been done using Random Sampling and Consensus (RANSAC) technique. Finally the 2D floor plan and 3D building model have been developed using point cloud processing in appropriate software. Multiple interiors of existing buildings and under construction indoor sites have been scanned, mapped and modelled as presented in this paper. In addition, the validation of the as-built models have been performed by comparing with the actual architecture design of the surveyed buildings. In comparison to available surveying solutions present in the local market, the developed system has been found faster, accurate and user friendly to produce more enhanced structural results with minute details.
Journal Article